I HAD the misfortune to enter the country on August 5 with one immigration officer posted to handle approximately 300 passengers on the citizens’ side while three immigration officers were given to the visitors’ side.
Needless to say it took one hour and 45 minutes to reach the immigration officer counter who was tired and moving quite slowly at this time because it was she alone working to review and stamp all these entry forms. A sad state of affairs.
The long immigration lines in the arrival lounges at this country’s two major airports are nothing new but this was exhausting, frustrating, infuriating and monotonous as the crowd grew tired, with frustration mounting and their anger level raising. They could not understand why they being the taxpayers, why the powers that be, would have decided that only one immigration officer on their side which was clearly inadequate to handle over 300 passengers while the visitors’ side got three immigration officers and moved much more quickly. Many asked the question, is this how you treat your own citizens like prisoners, caged with contempt and disdain and inadequate service? One passenger voiced his frustration and was dismissed like he didn’t matter. Another stated this was oppressive!
How can we treat our own citizens with such disgust and contempt when you want us to understand and support your plight, your right to strike for overtime at the Piarco International airport of Trinidad and Tobago? This question just resonated through the line and caused many to get angrier and angrier.
One would recall that on Monday July 16, 2018 this Government launched a new automated border control system at the Piarco International Airport with much fanfare and pomp exclaiming that long immigration lines in the arrival lounges at this country’s two major airports could soon be a thing of the past. Whatever happened to these machines? Where are they? Why aren’t they in use?
This pilot project, which started with 12 kiosks, was supposed to ease this situation of long frustrating lines for citizens arriving at the airport and was supposed to be expanded to prevent this very situation we are experiencing at our airport at this very time due to the shortage of immigration officers working. The 12 kiosks have gone missing. It was supposed to be unveiled fully to travellers on July 28, 2018.
The system required users to scan their machine-readable passports, have their fingerprints scanned and their photographs taken by the machines. Users that are cleared for entry are then issued a slip with their photograph which is then collected by a designated immigration officer and allowed fast entry without lines or stress. Travellers will then be permitted to proceed towards the duty-free shopping area or directly to the baggage claim area and the Customs and Excise checkpoint. The entire process was expected to take a little over a minute from start to finish or so it was boasted by the then national security minister Edmund Dillon.
Further, the Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said the system was implemented to reduce inefficiency and to bring T&T in line with major international countries who have been using similar systems for quite some time, however, this was just a pappy show because the machines are not there now, they were never really implemented and no one is asking the questions why or what happened to them? What is the reason that they are not in use? Why haven’t they been implemented when they were touted as a revolutionary step by this Government to ease travellers’ time for entry into this country? scrap the whole project?
This system was supposed to utilise state-of-the-art facial recognition software and collect users’ fingerprints. It was supposed to verify the validity of a travel document by checking it against an international database of photos, passports and ID cards. A similar system was also to be introduced for departures.
The only thing we see at the airport now is anger and frustration from our citizens and is likely to confirm our beliefs that this Government is totally incompetent and always tries to cut some backdoor deal shrouded in secrecy and insinuations where the real story is never revealed and they always seem to be hiding the truth from the public.
When will we see our taxpayers’ dollars at work where we see efficiency and competence, where we see better governance and put a stop to all the corruption and bacchanal, not just the same old story again of ineptitude, deflection and cover-ups.
Neil Gosine is the treasurer of the UNC. He was a former Chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration MBA, BSC in Mathematics and a BA in Administrative Studies. The views and comments expressed in this column are not necessarily those of AZP News, a Division of Complete Image Limited.
Where is the Automated Border Control System
I HAD the misfortune to enter the country on August 5 with one immigration officer posted to handle approximately 300 passengers on the citizens’ side while three immigration officers were given to the visitors’ side.
Needless to say it took one hour and 45 minutes to reach the immigration officer counter who was tired and moving quite slowly at this time because it was she alone working to review and stamp all these entry forms. A sad state of affairs.
The long immigration lines in the arrival lounges at this country’s two major airports are nothing new but this was exhausting, frustrating, infuriating and monotonous as the crowd grew tired, with frustration mounting and their anger level raising. They could not understand why they being the taxpayers, why the powers that be, would have decided that only one immigration officer on their side which was clearly inadequate to handle over 300 passengers while the visitors’ side got three immigration officers and moved much more quickly. Many asked the question, is this how you treat your own citizens like prisoners, caged with contempt and disdain and inadequate service? One passenger voiced his frustration and was dismissed like he didn’t matter. Another stated this was oppressive!
How can we treat our own citizens with such disgust and contempt when you want us to understand and support your plight, your right to strike for overtime at the Piarco International airport of Trinidad and Tobago? This question just resonated through the line and caused many to get angrier and angrier.
One would recall that on Monday July 16, 2018 this Government launched a new automated border control system at the Piarco International Airport with much fanfare and pomp exclaiming that long immigration lines in the arrival lounges at this country’s two major airports could soon be a thing of the past. Whatever happened to these machines? Where are they? Why aren’t they in use?
This pilot project, which started with 12 kiosks, was supposed to ease this situation of long frustrating lines for citizens arriving at the airport and was supposed to be expanded to prevent this very situation we are experiencing at our airport at this very time due to the shortage of immigration officers working. The 12 kiosks have gone missing. It was supposed to be unveiled fully to travellers on July 28, 2018.
The system required users to scan their machine-readable passports, have their fingerprints scanned and their photographs taken by the machines. Users that are cleared for entry are then issued a slip with their photograph which is then collected by a designated immigration officer and allowed fast entry without lines or stress. Travellers will then be permitted to proceed towards the duty-free shopping area or directly to the baggage claim area and the Customs and Excise checkpoint. The entire process was expected to take a little over a minute from start to finish or so it was boasted by the then national security minister Edmund Dillon.
Further, the Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said the system was implemented to reduce inefficiency and to bring T&T in line with major international countries who have been using similar systems for quite some time, however, this was just a pappy show because the machines are not there now, they were never really implemented and no one is asking the questions why or what happened to them? What is the reason that they are not in use? Why haven’t they been implemented when they were touted as a revolutionary step by this Government to ease travellers’ time for entry into this country? scrap the whole project?
This system was supposed to utilise state-of-the-art facial recognition software and collect users’ fingerprints. It was supposed to verify the validity of a travel document by checking it against an international database of photos, passports and ID cards. A similar system was also to be introduced for departures.
The only thing we see at the airport now is anger and frustration from our citizens and is likely to confirm our beliefs that this Government is totally incompetent and always tries to cut some backdoor deal shrouded in secrecy and insinuations where the real story is never revealed and they always seem to be hiding the truth from the public.
When will we see our taxpayers’ dollars at work where we see efficiency and competence, where we see better governance and put a stop to all the corruption and bacchanal, not just the same old story again of ineptitude, deflection and cover-ups.
Neil Gosine is the treasurer of the UNC. He was a former Chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration MBA, BSC in Mathematics and a BA in Administrative Studies. The views and comments expressed in this column are not necessarily those of AZP News, a Division of Complete Image Limited.